LinkedIn is a massive network of potential connections which may or may not translate into business for you. In the UK alone there are 23+ million users of LinkedIn.

Do you get connection requests from the right people? The ones who would be your ‘ideal clients’?

Ideally you should have a plan for who you want to connect with before you start using LinkedIn. In my previous blog post “Who do you want to attract on LinkedIn?” I explained about creating avatars of your ideal clients and planning how to attract them. Read more »

Why should you ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn?

Have you been changed over to the new LinkedIn user experience?

LinkedIn is rolling out a new user experience for all desktop users. I was changed over a couple of days ago and it all looks very different so I’m putting together a series of posts with the significant updates.

Do you have a strategy for your use of LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is an essential marketing tool to help create a network that works for you and to get the right results you need a LinkedIn strategy.

Marketing should account for around 40% of your working time, this seems a lot I know but the more time you put into it the better your results will be.

There are many different ways of using LinkedIn to grow your business. Think of LinkedIn as a neural network with hundreds (or thousands) of connections being created which can retrieved as necessary. Read more »

LinkedIn have released a new version of Messaging which is gradually being rolled out globally.

Mine has been updated and there are some important changes that I need to make you aware of. Some of the changes are good and some are bad.

Messages sorted by sender

Messages are now sorted by the sender’s name with most recent first, rather than Inbox, Received and Archived.

Messages are now shown as a conversation. When you click on one which makes it easier to see who said what and when.

The sender’s profile photograph also appears in this list. Another reason to have a good profile photo and it helps to build trust and recognition. To read other reasons why you should have a profile photo take a look at this blog post.

Your connection requests have moved

Connection requests are no longer visible under Messages.

They are now only accessible when you hover over the silhouette with a number next to it top right of the LinkedIn screen.

However something important to note here.

DON’T click on Add Connections – this will then go into your email and want to connect up with everyone from there. Click on See all and all the connection requests will be visible.

Shared Messages visible to all

You cannot hide the LinkedIn contact details from other people in a shared message. Previously you could do this but it is no longer available. This means that everyone you send a joint message to will be able to see everyone else’s LinkedIn details and will be able to contact them.

Personally I do not like this as I think that this is an invasion of privacy. My LinkedIn network is made up of the people I choose to add to it and not people who may be given my details by someone else.

Please don’t use emoticons

You can add a photograph or attach a file to a message which is good but there is also an awful emoticon option to add to messages now. Please DON’T use it as it does not look professional and is more suited to the likes of Facebook.

What do you think of the new LinkedIn Messaging?

Do you think it is an improvement? Please let me know in the comments below.

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